The stinger shot through the fourth warrior's head like a rapier and forced me to retreat into the mist. Four warriors were down which left two enemies. Before I could decide my next move another mental pulse spread through the chamber. I circulated the Tao of Adamance as a fresh wave of psychic agony washed over me. I conjured three more imbued blades and shot them more than the last warrior.

In a display of athleticism that defied imagination, the bug leaped over the first blade and spun in between the other two. It was like the monster had eyes on the back of its head. Or... My gave shifted toward the queen and I chuckled. The queen was able to control them. The warrior rushed toward me the moment I stepped out of my domain. This time I didn't try to escape. I lunged right in time to avoid a thrust. I attempted to grab the stinger the same way I did before only for the bug to launch itself backwards.

I cocked my head to the side and smiled. The beast was learning. Part of me wondered if the Queen could become stronger than me. Or at least able to beat me if I fought it long enough. Despite my curiosity, I resolved myself to kill it. It was too big a risk especially if the other eggs could hatch into warriors anytime soon. I brought both hands up in a barely remembered boxing pose before running at the bug.

The hornet raised its stinger and met my charge. I ducked down and to the right barely dodging the attack. Instead of going for the stinger I imbued my right hand with spiritual energy and slammed it into the bug's abdomen with all the strength I could manage. An explosion of sound reverberated through the room. The hornet was launched like it had been shot out of cannon. My follow-up attack was on the way before it hit the wall.

Three blades claimed their lives as I turned my attention back to the queen. I searched its eyes for any sign of awareness but it was impossible to tell. I activated Psionic Rain and the familiar indigo sun appeared in the sky. I willed it to shatter and the Queen's life was extinguished. Her energy was just barely enough to push me to level 38.

My elation at the level-up died when I remembered what came next. I needed to kill all of the eggs. I tested the closest egg with a psychic blade and was relieved when I got kill energy. If I didn't have to break each egg individually then this was doable. I spent the next thirty minutes attacking every single egg. The process was oddly morbid and felt way too much like killing babies for my liking. When I was finished I collected the eggs. I wasn't sure if they could be sold or maybe used for Alchemy. Either way, they might be useful.

Once that was done I used Apportation to return to the surface. I took a long deep breath to wash the sewer smell out of my nose. I then spent my points. I didn't plan on fighting with my hands too much but it was kind of fun so both free points went into the attribute. I was just about to leap down from the building when my danger sense went off. Psychic Aegis formed just as a metal object shot toward me.

My eyes widened and I threw myself off the building just as the grenade exploded. I spun in the air and managed to land on my feet as a storm of bullets slammed into my shield. None of them were strong enough to break through the shield but the panic didn't fade. The shooters were two blocks away and inside the remains of a bus. Which left the grenade thrower.

A scream of utter panic shot through me as a man stepped out in front of me. He was about forty feet away and held a glowing blue cube in his hands. It took me another moment to realize that the man was the guy from the Commonwealth. The same one I had fought earlier. He twisted the cube and blood began to drip from his eyes, nose, and mouth. I reactivated Apportation just as a blue wave surged toward me. My mind went completely blank as I was yanked backward through the portal. Intellect Fortress triggered as my soul erupted in the worst pain I had ever felt.

The second before the portal closed felt like an eternity. The blue light was more like napalm as I tried to remove it. Only my fingers couldn't touch the stuff. When the portal reopened I was five miles away and it still felt too close. I sprinted like a bat out of hell. I desperately swallowed pill after pill but nothing was working. I was half a second away from a full-blown panic when the blue light began to fade.

The forest flew by in a blur as I sought out a place to hide. A place to recover. I wasn't even sure I was running toward the temple. Nor was I sure I wanted to. I spread each of my Tao throughout my body but none of them made much of a difference. Each one only resisted the blue light for a second before the heat returned. The only relief came when I circulated the Ethereal Codex. I rounded a tree and found a dip in the ground that led into a cave.

I dropped into position and passed my inner eye over my body. What I saw nearly made me scream. My channels were being burned! I circulated energy as fast as I could but the latent energy here paled in comparison to what I needed. It was like sprinkling water onto a fire. I bit back a whimper of pain and sunk deep into meditation. I withdrew my senses inside myself as spiritual energy warred with the blue light.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I opened my eyes. The sun had gone down and the cave was nearly pitch black. I conjured three balls of light to make sure nothing was waiting in the dark. Next, I took a deep breath and passed a mental eye over my body. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw my channels. The burns hadn't been anywhere near as bad as I thought.

I was pretty sure whatever weapon they used would have destroyed me if it weren't for the reinforcement. Which only made me more grateful. The look of madness and fury in the man's eyes was enough to haunt my dreams but I had survived. Next, I tested energy circulation. There was a little bit of pain and soreness. Kind of like moving the day after a hard workout.

Once the fear had faded anger began to flood to replace it. I tried to be understanding. I tried to let it go but that wasn't working. I got to my feet and took a deep breath. I needed to assess the situation. The men who attacked me had to be dead. Even I barely survived that weapon and I teleported away. They were holding it. The only question was if the item survived. If it was a one-time use thing it wasn't a threat but if it wasn't. If it could be used against me.

I shook my head. There was no reason to worry about what-ifs. I needed to go back and find it. I left my hiding place and conjured another trio of lights. I then condensed them into tiny bulbs. I still wasn't good enough to change their shapes into anything more detailed but this was good enough. I sent one trio in front of me and one behind me. I then created six more and sent each new set to either side. The effect made it look like I had swarms of fireflies around me.

There was virtually no chance that I wouldn't be noticed like this but who cared? I have never been interested in stealth or covert things. I raced through the forest following the path of broken branches and overturned rocks. I unleashed my aura every time a monster got within a hundred feet of me. The fact that they all ran only reinforced the growing fear in my mind. Not of the bomb but that the continent wasn't strong enough to hold me anymore.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

When the trail ran cold I activated Apportation. Five miles were passed over in the blink of an eye. When the portal reopened I was standing on top of the hornet's hive. I half expected everything to be reduced to ashes but that wasn't the case. Strangely enough, everything looked fine. Outside of the pair of corpses. I leaped off the building and made my way over to the man. The cube in his hand had lost its glow and looked like an inert block. I knelt prepared to put the thing in my ring when the corpse moved.

"How are you still alive." The man's voice came out hoarse Like he had been screaming for hours.

"I guess I am just harder to kill than that." I tried to summon my anger at the attempt but this person was barely alive. I wasn't a medical expert by any means but I could tell there was no chance he would survive. Even if I shoved every healing pill on earth into him.

"There is truly no justice." He made the worst sound I had ever heard after that. Like the worst kind of smoker's cough and for a moment I thought he might cough up a lung.

"Was there Justice in the old world?" I grabbed the cube and examined it. The thing was alien for lack of a better word. It reminded me of the thing in The Avengers only much smaller.

"My only regret is that I couldn't drag you into whatever hell comes after this."

I shrugged not sure how I was supposed to respond to that. I was pretty sure I would do the same in his position so I couldn't blame him. I sighed and looked up at the night sky as if I would find the right words among the stars. "If it makes you feel better. I respect the attempt. You knew I was stronger than you and you came anyway. Not sure where you got the weapon from but you endured it."

When I looked down at the man again I found his eyes vacant. I wasn't sure if he even heard what I said. I also wasn't sure if the words were for him or me. I placed the cube in my ring and decided to leave the body where it lay. It felt wrong for me to take it. The man had chosen his final resting place and I could give him that. I made my way over to the second corpse and they were dead. I collected the gun as well as the remaining ammo but left his body.

I left the small neighborhood a few minutes later. Part of me still felt bad but the truth was I couldn't let this continue. Eliminating the Commonwealth wouldn't be hard. Just killing them all wouldn't help though, would it? Not unless I was willing to exterminate all of them and I wasn't. I couldn't kill a bunch of children. My thoughts roiled as I raced through the rainforest. When I arrived at the temple the journey felt way too short.

I stepped through the teleporter a few minutes later. I activated Ethereal Convocation as soon as I was in Amara. "I am going to the Commonwealth."

Keshaun and Christopher's voices filled my mind a second later. Both of them were shouting for different reasons.

"What do you plan on doing?" Keshaun asked.

"We don't need to cause a problem. Not right now" Christopher replied.

"The parents I spared last time tried to kill me or rather the father did. He along with another mortal attacked after I finished a battle."

"If you kill them your reputation will plummet. The people who think you are a tyrant will be vindicated. Are you prepared for that?" Keshaun asked. The thought lacked any hint of judgment.

"It will make it difficult to deal with other factions. Not to mention travel for the rest of us."

"I am not going to kill them. Not this time. I am going to put the fear of God into them. If that doesn't work I will end them all." Just thought that the last part removed the weight from my shoulders. It was like admitting it made it both more real and more acceptable. "Christopher prepare our people just in case. I don't want to make things more difficult but everyone needs to be prepared."

I ended the spell just as I passed through the city's defensive array. The jog through the outskirts of my territory was much faster than anywhere else. The monsters here were either all dead or below level fifteen which made them more likely to run than to fight me. The lack of hostility did nothing to help me relax. If anything it puts nerves more on edge.

It gave me more time to think about what I was going to do. More time to reflect on the possible ways that my actions might get someone killed. That I might kill a whole lot of people. I didn't stop running until I was two miles outside of the massive arena. From what I could see they had a town defense array but it didn't seem powerful. I activated Apportation and infused it with the Tao of Adamance. The portal shuttered for a moment while the array surged.

A translucent wall of force glowed for a second as if in battle against my spell. I wasn't sure if the Tao of Adamance had any effect but it didn't matter. The array lasted for less than a second before the portal opened. I stepped through and when it reopened I stepped out on top of a military-style tent. The center of the football field looked like something out of a military movie which was a bit odd.

They hadn't taken the time to adjust to the new world at all. If anything it looked more like something you would have seen during the Iraq war. There was no way anything in here was tough enough to defend against monsters. I took a seat on the tallest tint and took a breath. The guards in the distance were scrambling which meant they had noticed the array fail. Part of me was curious how long it would take for them to realize I was already in there.

I didn't have the time for it. I unleashed my aura only this time I let it gradually build. Instead of an explosion, it was closer to a flood. One that started at ankle deep and increased. People began to panic almost immediately. The civilians ran in all directions which only made it more difficult for the guards to react. The few cultivators that had movement abilities weren't as affected. I sat down, one leg up with my face in one hand. Doing my best to project a bored tyrant.

A person who couldn't be bothered to kill the ants beneath him. I figured if that was how people viewed me then why not lean into it? I was a bit surprised that none of the cultivators attacked. I assumed it was because of my representation but when one jumped down to save a man who was nearly trampled to death I realized the truth. I had effectively taken the settlement hostage.

"To what do we owe the arrival of the Earth's strongest man." A man dressed head to toe in military gear called out. His voice had a powerful southern twang to it that almost made me chuckle. What was more impressive was his aura. It wasn't strong, probably around Aaliyah's in power but it felt different. It felt like he was a resolute pillar of stability. Where the rest of the world may fall he would stand. He would endure. Was it a Tao? Or did he get his aura some other way?

"I had just had a run-in with some folks from your camp. They had attempted to kill me and it obviously didn't work." I scanned the crowd in search of a familiar face. It took me nearly five minutes to find her. The look in her eyes made it clear that she wasn't afraid and that she knew what her husband had done.

"I see. I assure you that we had nothing to do with the actions of wayward allies. If you would be willing to talk-"

I upped my aura just a little bit. A hush passed over the crowd as everyone froze. It was as if I held a gun to the backs of their heads. "I didn't come here for prolonged discussion or diplomacy. It's too early for that. I am here to tell you that on account of my actions last time I was here I have elected to forgive the attempt on my life. If it happens again or if I have reason to believe that it will happen."

I paused and let my gaze travel across every face. Letting the full weight of my threat settle onto their shoulders. "My next visit won't be as pleasant." No one moved which was a testament to them. I could tell that the cultivators were divided though. Around a third took the threat to heart while the rest looked ready for a battle. It was a bit too hopeful that the threat would be enough to cow them. I had hoped to avoid a battle since Earth could use every fighter but there was nothing to be done. I sighed and withdrew my aura.